Virus Detected
by SetFireToTheRainbow
Summary: The Bug has taken over. Life as we know it has been obliterated. Kids ages 13 to 19 are transported to a mysterious island to survive until The Poof. Nobody knows what happens after The Poof, and nobody wants to find out. It is the kids' job to find The Bug's weakness and destroy it. They are the only hope for humanity. Percabeth and other ships. Rated T for Thalia. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

"_Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live."__  
><em>_―__Mark Twain_

**Hey. I really don't know why I'm writing this; I just needed to get it out of my head. Sorry for so many stories and so little updates, I just keep having little urges and I needed to write this. I may be updating this a bit slow. **

**Enjoy!**

_Luke's Pov_

Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. Stop. Click. Skim. Escape. Scroll. Scroll. Scroll.

This is my life. My friends and I spend our lives on computers. Forget school. Forget sports. At one point, there was a time for that. Now, our lives are consumed with the _escape_ button.

It didn't used to be that way. We used to have fun, running around, swimming, playing as children in the sun. Nothing was the same after The Bug.

The Bug. The Bug is the reason we are in this mess we called 'life'. We never see kids under age thirteen or any adults over age nineteen.

In total, there are about 50 of us. All teenagers' ages thirteen through twenty are transported here. Why? Well, we don't really know. We've never seen anybody younger than thirteen or older than nineteen. On someone's twentieth birthday, they just disappear. Just like that. When a kid hits thirteen, they are poofed here. None of us understand why this is happening.

However, we do know _how_. Not the exact details of what the kids go through to get transported here, but we know how The Bug works.

Actually, we don't know _all_ the details of _how_. Just most of them. Okay, some. Alright! We only know a few basic details on how The Bug works.

But we do know how The Bug originated. That much we have figured out.

The Bug started on the Internet. What hasn't? It was a virus invented by a company called FATE. Fight Against Toxic Encephalopathy. Toxic Encephalopathy is just a term for brain disease, damage, or malfunction. FATE was supposed to fight against mutations.

The opposite occurred. FATE didn't obliterate mutations. They created them.

The Bug was the messenger, the USB that connected the mutations and technology. FATE spent most of their early years researching mutations. How they work, what they do, how they can be controlled. Eventually, they were able to create technology-based mutations. The Bug was the USB that transferred the mutation files to the Internet. On the Internet, the mutations ran wild. The mutations infected one site after another. At first, the only side effects of a mutant attack were the site's demolition and a virus that infected your computer or laptop.

Soon, the effects escalated.

Nobody knows how, but the mutants soon carried some sort of sickness, a disease that could not be cured. People in the real world were killed by the technological mutations. The mutants could slither right out of your screen.

The first dead bodies weren't taken seriously. A heart attack here, a mysterious murderer there. Soon, the amount of victims increased. A few were cut open, bleeding to death. Many were strangled. Some were electrocuted. Still others were sliced into pieces. The variations increased as The Bug uploaded more and more files. FATE invented more and more ways to kill.

At first, it was just a game for them. They would experiment with the mutations, trying to upload the maximum amount of commands on how to kill. Innocent people, teenagers, adults, and small children alike, would die for no legitimate purpose. They would die to please FATE.

Soon, FATE lost control. The Bug was hungry. It was hungry for more, wanting more, needing more to survive. FATE couldn't provide for it, so The Bug created a mind of its own. Actually, FATE unintentionally created a mind for it. One scientist wondered what it was like if the mutations were given a brain with the thought capabilities of a human, so he scanned his own brain and sent the files to The Bug. The Bug saved some for itself and distributed copies to every single mutant. The mutants now owned the mind of a genius. They found a way to travel from site to site, killing everyone in their path. They found a way to murder someone at a computer screen, delete the site they were on, and leave before their own file was deleted. Every single worker at FATE was killed.

However, The Bug is not just the head of a cold-blooded killing machine now. It is the general of a deadly, invincible army that kills on sight. It sends out scouts with soldiers behind them, just in case of an attack. The Bug is the only thing that knows of its weakness. Nobody else understands how it works, much less how to defeat it.

The Bug decided that it needed kids to do…well, we're not sure yet. It was the thing that sends us out here, on a remote island-thing. The Bug wipes our memory (leaving only our names, ages, and birthdays) and plops us down here. The island isn't that big, but it doesn't need to be. We're the only people here. Only about fifty of us are ever here at a time.

I've been here since The Bug took over. I was fourteen. Now, I'm nineteen. My birthday is coming up in a few months. After that…I don't really know where I'll go. Maybe I'll die. Maybe I'll go back to the real world. Maybe I'll become a part of the computer. Maybe The Bug will even turn me into some sort of mutant. I have no idea.

On our little island, there's about 50 kids (I think I've mentioned that before, but oh well.). I'm the oldest. There were a few before me, but they turned twenty and disappeared. Our island is surrounded by water. Salt water, as far as you can see. Once, some kids tried to swim away, or build a boat, or something. It didn't work. Every time someone tries to escape, a storm swirls above the ocean and sharks appear. Nobody makes it out alive.

On the island, it's mostly thick forest. The water is the area around the island, which (a far as we know) is a perfect circle. The beach is a thin circle, like the crust on the Earth. The mantle is the forest. It takes up most of the land. In the middle, there's an area of dirt. It's what would be the outer core (since I'm already comparing this island to Earth's inside, I guess I'll keep that analogy). It's not as large as the mantle, but not as small as the inner core. In this dirt area, we built cabins, a training center, and a dining area. The inner core has always been there. It is this small, completely metal room. We call it The Box. Inside The Box, The Bug supplied us with computers. We aren't sure why. To kill us, maybe, but why got to the trouble of wiping someone's memory transporting them all the way to an island in the middle of nowhere just to kill them in a complicated way? It doesn't add up.

The Bug left me only with one memory: my name and age. I am Luke Castellan. I am nineteen years old. My birthday is August 21. Today is May 19.

I've made friends here. One girl, Thalia Grace, is my best friend. She and I have been together since the beginning. She's the same age as me, only her birthday is December 22. Then, there's her brother, Jason Grace. He's seventeen. Piper McLean, his girlfriend, is also seventeen, along with his best friend, Leo Valdez. Leo is almost as scrawny as Nico di Angelo. Nico, the same age as Jason, is smaller than some fourteen-year-olds, and is often picked on. However, the people who pick on him always underestimate his strength. There's this one girl, Clarisse La Rue, but I don't really count her as one of my 'friends'. She's a huge bully, always picking on the younger kids. And then there's Percy Jackson. Mister Perfect himself. Every girl is in love with him, but he only loves one back: Annabeth Chase. Both are eighteen years old. Annabeth is our brains and Percy is our peacemaker. Sort of. Percy hates it when others fight, so he decides to break it up by fighting with the kid who started it. Percy is the best swordfighter we have ever seen. I'm pretty good myself. Only Percy and Thalia can beat me. Oh, and there's Frank, Hazel, Reyna, Travis, Connor, Katie, and so many more. Frank and Hazel are seventeen. They've liked each other for ever, and everybody says that they _really_ need to get together. Reyna is eighteen. She used to have a crush on Jason, but when he started dating Piper, she got over him. Travis, Connor, and Katie are sixteen. Travis and Connor are identical twins that enjoy playing pranks on everybody else. They keep the island in high spirits. Travis and Katie hate each other, or so everyone thinks. Silena, another one of my friends, totally 'ships' them. Silena is nineteen, like Thalia and I. Her birthday just passed. It was April 15. Charles Beckendorf, her boyfriend, poofed a few weeks ago. Silena was crushed. Beckendorf was the solidity, the backbone of the island. Everybody thought that maybe, just maybe, he could survive the poof. Unfortunately, he didn't. When he turned twenty, he disappeared. We searched the island, hoping that he might have run. We didn't really expect to find him, but we did it for Silena.

I'm not sure how many people I've witnessed poof. Many. I've been here a long time, seemingly forever. Beckendorf was the worst hit we've ever had.

Eventually, though, we got over it. Not completely, but enough to keep working.

What do we do, you ask? We work on computers. We use the computers, trying to find a weakness in The Bug. That's our one and only job. Aside from that, we hunt for food. Animals roam wild in the woods, killing anything and anyone in their way. Only the bravest and best fighters are allowed to enter the woods. Me, Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, Clarisse, Reyna, Frank, Jason, Connor and Travis Stoll, Chris Rodriguez, and Beckendorf. Only twelve are allowed to go each year. We were chosen. Only problem is, our number was decreased to eleven since Beckendorf poofed. As far as I know, nobody has ever died on a hunt before. Sure, people have gotten injured, but nobody has actually ever died here before.

Every day, we wake up and eat together. Next, we each take our seat in The Box. We work for awhile. Then, the eleven of us leave to go hunt. The others eat lunch in the dirt area while we eat lunch in the woods. In the woods, we hunt for food. We hunt and are hunted by the monsters that run free. A lot of us have gotten injured in the past, and trust me when I say it's not fun. After we get a lot of meat and food and stuff, we go back and put the food in our inventory. Each lunch and dinner, we eat the food we caught.

That's our life. It's not much of a life, but it is what we do.

LINE BREAK

"Hey." I swung my legs over the bench and sat next to Thalia. "What's up?"

"Oh, the usual. You know, near starvation, innumerable cuts and injuries, and absolutely no knowledge of the outside world." She grinned sarcastically.

"Good times." I nodded, digging into my food. Today, our cook, Will Solace, treated us to bacon and sausage from a wild boar we caught yesterday.

"It'll take us forever to catch another one of these." Thalia muttered. "Seriously, do you know how hard it was to kill this?"

"I remember." I said. "Travis is still in the Infirmary. But if we don't eat it now, it'll go bad."

"Yeah, I guess."

Percy and Connor sat next to me. "Rough day?"

"Still sore from chasing that pig yesterday."

"Better than Travis." Connor scoffed. "His leg hasn't healed at all."

"Really?" Annabeth approached our table, sitting next to Thalia. "I would think that, based on the size, it would have healed at least a tiny bit."

"Yeah, nah."

Jason, Piper, and Leo came up together, plopping down next to Annabeth. "Hey guys." Jason nodded to his sister.

Reyna took her seat next to Percy. Nico joined her. He picked at his meal, barely eating anything.

"Nico, you need to eat!" Hazel, Nico's sister, chided. "You're so underweight. Eat something!"

"Hazel!" Nico complained. "I'm just not hungry."

"Not hungry, my butt!"

"Come on, Nico." Frank chimed in, sitting next to Hazel. "Please eat."

"I don't want to. I don't need to."

Silena silently sat next to Frank. Tear tracks were stained on her pretty cheeks, her eyes still red from crying. I looked over at Thalia, who is already examining Silena, concerned. Katie tried to comfort Silena, talking to her soothingly.

Most of the meal was eaten in silence, everybody just keeping to their selves.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. The Loser Table." Clarisse laughed at her own joke. "Haven't you two disappeared yet?" She aimed the last part at me and Thalia.

"Not yet, Clarisse." I smiled. "You'll have to put up with us for a little while longer."

"When are you taking the plunge, Clarisse?" Percy asked venomously, glaring at her for sort-of insulting us.

"My birthday is January twenty-second. I'm not going anywhere for awhile. How long are you around, Prissy? A year? Maybe two?"

"Next year, August eighteenth." Percy answered. "But you'll be gone before I am."

"That'll be a relief." Clarisse muttered, stalking off to a different table to sit with Chris Rodriguez.

"Ignore her." Annabeth held Percy back as he got up, making sure he didn't go after Clarisse.

A bell rang, signaling that everybody needed to go to The Box and get to work.

"Aw, man, I don't think I can stand."

"Well, you'll have to. We're gonna have to catch another animal in a few hours." I helped Leo to his feet.

We entered the room together, taking our assigned seats. I sat in between Thalia and Annabeth. Each of The Hunters (as we were appropriately named) sit close to the door. That way, when our hours are up, we can slip out, virtually unnoticed.

Annabeth studied the screen in concentration. I almost laughed at her 'enthusiasm'. Nobody likes this job, but concentration is the closest to eagerness anyone has ever gotten.

I logged on with dread. Yesterday, I was almost attacked by a mutant. Any attack means certain death.

I scrolled, searching the Internet for a website not infected or already searched. Any information we find immediately goes to The Archives. We named it that to sound official, but it's really just a collection of Word documents installed on the computers. We copy and paste new information. The information goes into a folder labeled The Archives. Later, some techies study it, sucking all possible information about The Bug out of it.

Annabeth gasped. "I got one!" She whispered. Nobody ever talks in The Box. It's an unwritten rule. She quickly copied the information and pasted it onto another document, sending it to The Archives.

"Nice." Percy whispered back, on the other side of Annabeth.

"I can't wait until we actually get to go out again." Thalia sighed. "I hate this job."

"Doesn't everyone?" I asked sweetly.

"Yeah, but I have a special hate for this."

"That's nice."

"Shut up, Luke!" Thalia teased.

I laughed silently. "Okay, okay. Wanna do the game again?"

"You know I'll beat you."

"Oh, sure." I smirked. "You'll _absolutely demolish_ me."

"You know I will."

"Three…"

"Two…."

"One…"

"Go!" We each hurriedly searched for a new site. Our little game is easy to understand but extremely difficult to even finish. Whoever finds a new website leads the hunt. Since Thalia and I are the oldest, we get to choose how to hunt. When we were younger, we broke up into pairs and hunted that way. I enjoy that way, but Thalia like to hunt in two groups of five instead of five groups of two. Neither of us has actually finished the game, so we usually end up switching every other week. Ever since we were young, Thalia and I have always hunted together. In the first few weeks, we would shyly ask each other if we wanted to be partners again. Now, it's simply assumed. We're partners. No questions asked.

Of course, I've always had a crush on her. I've never really told her, though. I don't want to make things awkward between us, so I keep my feelings to myself.

An hour passed, neither of us finding a site. That was normal. We've basically found most of the information that could ever be found. Annabeth's find was lucky. A bell rang, and The Hunters left.

"Finally!" Thalia exclaimed.

Reyna lead us up to the weapon room, where we each kept our hunting weapons. Of course, each of The Hunters has a knife that we kept close on our person at all times (just in case of an emergency) but our real weapons we kept in a shed.

We went in, single-file style. There wasn't much room, so we needed to wait for each person to locate and grab their weapon before the next repeated the same process.

As always, Clarisse shoved her way forward. "Out of my way, losers!" Not many people actually took offense at her insults. New kids did, of course. Percy did. Other than them, everybody pretty much knew not to mess with her. Thalia, Percy, and I are the best fighters, and Clarisse can't beat us. We're the only ones she can't beat, though, so she picks on everybody else. She taunts us a lot, but we usually don't let it get to us.

Clarisse found her spear, Maimer, easily. Next, I grabbed my sword. As I examined my sword for any new scrapes or scars (courtesy of the Stoll brothers) the others had congregated before me, each with their weapon of choice. Travis was absent, still spending time in the Infirmary after our last Hunt. Clarisse pretended she was stabbing someone with her spear. Thalia gripped her spear anxiously. Percy flipped his sword in the air, catching it in odd ways to impress Annabeth. Annabeth ignored Percy, lost in space. Her eyes portrayed the thoughts spinning a million miles an hour in her head. Reyna tapped her sword in the ground, ignoring Connor who was attempting to smooth-talk her, his hands swinging a dagger around as easily as a doll. Piper and Jason were talking, Piper looking down into her dagger and Jason trying to convince her of something, his golden sword forgotten in his hand. Frank stood awkwardly in the corner, shouldering his bow nervously. Chris stood next to him. They weren't friends, but not enemies either.

"Okay!" I interrupted before Connor could do anything rash. "Let's get out there and kill something!"

Clarisse let out a whoop, and everyone followed her, running out to the wilderness.

"My turn." I grinned at Thalia. Five groups of two today.

"Alright, alright." Thalia got everyone's attention once we were in our clearing in the woods. "Five groups of two today. Everyone get in your pairs."

Connor raised his hand. "Um, my partner is hurt."

"Someone adopt this small child!" I pleaded, teasing Connor playfully.

Clarisse had lost her partner, Beckendorf. Percy and Annabeth were together. Jason and Chris. Reyna and Frank. Thalia and I. Usually, Connor would be with Travis, but Travis was injured, so Clarisse was forced to work with him.

"I'll take the runt." Clarisse grunted, snatching the back of Connor's shirt and dragging him away. Connor yelped and scrambled after her.

"Okay, everyone. Remember the rules. Stay safe. Don't purposely injure each other. Don't leave the island." The last rule was a joke. Nobody left the island unless they wanted to commit suicide. And nobody wanted to commit suicide here.

"Got it. See ya in six hours." Everyone set their watches for the six-hour timer and left in different directions to find food.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! I'm back!**

**AncientTide,**

**Thank you! So much! Hahaha, idek how I came up with it…like the reviews said, it's pretty much just a combination of a bunch of books I've read. Unfortunately, it's only got 90 views. Oh well. I've got you awesome reviewers! I don't need everyone else!**

**Mr. Invincible, **

**Yeah, actually, I have read the Gone series. It is similar, I really didn't notice that :) **

**WriterCat97,**

**It is also similar to the Maze Runner, which, yes indeed, I have read. Jeez, this is like a mix of a bunch of different stories now that I think about it. **

**|||| Winter Wolf ||||,**

**Thank you!**

**Elsa Sang,**

**Yup, I have read the Gone series, as mentioned in previous replies ;) Also, yeah, I hate it when Luke is the bad guy. Luke is awesome! And Thaluke is even better! Okay, I will include a friendship between Silena and Clarisse. I was going to, but I had kinda forgotten about it when I was writing the chapter…whoops. **

**Lahlahland,**

**I just want to start off by saying THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I noticed that, not only have you read and favorited most of my stories, but you have also favorited me! THANKS SO MUCH! Also, yes, I shall add more Luke and Thalia.**

**Hey guys…I'm sorry, but I made a mistake. I accidentally made Piper one of the Hunters who grabbed a weapon, but she's not. Sorry. **

**Anyways, let's get to the freaking story already!**

_Percy's Pov_

Annabeth and I strolled through the forest, waiting to see an animal. Over the years, we had gotten a bit excited and hunted down too many species. Now, many species were endangered. Now, we are only allowed to kill three animals per person per day. That includes birds, fish, and rodents. It does not include bugs or monsters.

Oh, haha, did I forget to tell you about the monsters? Yeah, the Hunters are also the Hunted. Ironic.

Monsters hide in the forest. That's what makes this job dangerous. There is always the great possibility of one of us dying.

"So, read any good books lately?" Annabeth tried to start a conversation with me.

I smirked at her. "Annie, you know I don't read."

"Don't call me that!" She snapped. "Don't or can't?"

"What?"

"You _don't_ read, by choice or you _can't_ read by lack of skill?"

"Um…both?"

"Both?"

"Yeah, I'm dyslexic, so I _can_ read, but it's a struggle and I can't read well, so I choose not to."

"Dyslexia isn't a choice, Percy." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Nor is it an excuse."

"Oh, so me barely being able to read, _medically_, isn't an excuse for me not being able to read well? You do realize that you're contradicting yourself in that accusation."

"Oh, look, someone's brushing up on his vocabulary."

"Hey! Just because I'm not accustomed to reading doesn't mean I'm not smart!"

"Whatever, Seaweed Brain."

"Well, you're such a…a…Wise Girl!"

"I thought name-calling was meant for dashing your self-esteem, not boosting it."

"I…you…arg! You're so difficult!"

"Why thank you, I try." Annabeth took a little bow, making me groan in exasperation.

"Why me?" I asked, looking up at the sky expectantly.

What I did not expect was the sky answering. Sure enough, something dropped out of the sky. Something small and dark. I couldn't see exactly what it was, but I knew whatever it was couldn't be good.

"Get out of the way!" I yelled, shoving Annabeth out of its path. We crashed down below a tree. Luckily, Annabeth's head came within inches of missing the thick trunk, saving her the pain of the soon-to-be concussion.

"Percy, what the-" She stopped short once she saw the object. I stood, helping her to her feet. We stared in disbelief at it.

It was a person.

It took me a minute, but I soon recognized the person.

It was Piper.

LINE BREAK

_Clarisse's Pov_

I sighed in annoyance as that twerp continued to talk behind me. I blocked out what he was saying, mostly, but he just wouldn't shut up!

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "_If you can't keep your bloody mouth shut I swear I'll do more than shut it for you!_" I yelled at him, breathing heavily.

"Jeez, Clarisse, people'll really start to think you've cracked if they hea-" I slammed him against a tree, a really thick one. I hoped it hurt. Screw Castellan and the rules! If this punk decided to say one more word, he would get pummeled.

"I _said. Shut. Up._" I growled, glaring at him. Connor gulped, bobbing his head up and down quickly. "Good." I released him, and he pushed off of the tree, away from me. I turned to him, about to say something, but before I could, something drastic happened.

I looked up, hearing a faint noise. Something hurled from the sky, plummeting at speeds even our fastest chariots couldn't reach.

"Come on!" I smashed through the trees to where I thought it was going to land, not bothering to see if Connor followed.

I skidded to a halt as I came to the clearing. Prissy and Annie Bell were already there, staring at the girl who had fallen from the sky.

I bent down, getting a closer look.

It was Piper McLean.

LINE BREAK

_Jason's Pov_

Chris and I usually work in silence, simply nodding to each other or gesturing when we're about to kill something. We were sneaking up on a deer when we heard a faint noise. A scream. It sounded above us, and the deer took off. Little did I know that that scream was about to change my life forever.

"What was that?"

"I dunno."

"Look; over there!"

"Where?" Chris pointed to the sky, and I noticed a dot, getting bigger and bigger as it hurtled towards our place.

"Shoot…Chris, you don't think that's…"

"A person? I don't know man, I don't know."

"It looks like it's going to land over there. Hurry!"

Chris followed me closely as I crashed through the forest. I swiped blindly at branches, stumbling into small clearing after small clearing until I bumped into someone.

"Jason. Watch it, you were about to skewer me with that thing. How many times have I told you-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, don't run with sharp objects." I grumbled, sheathing my sword.

"Nice to see you, too." Thalia rolled her eyes at me.

"Did you guys hear that scream?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. We saw…something falling that way. We were planning to catch up with it, to see what it is."

"We didn't see anything…" Thalia looked at Luke, and he shook his head, confirming her thoughts. "But we'll follow you anyways."

"Great. It was this way." I continued running through the woods, a bit slower but more careful this time.

Eventually, we came upon a clearing. Percy, Annabeth, Clarisse, and Connor were already gathered around something…someone.

It was a girl. It took me a moment to recognize her with her mangled features, but…

"Piper." I breathed. I glided numbly over to where she lay, dying. I was half-surprised she wasn't dead already. The other half of me felt like it was dying inside along with her.

"Piper." I repeated, my voice cracking. I was on my knees in front of her body, cradling her head in my arms. Tears slipped down my face, but I was not ashamed. Outside of my bubble of grief, I heard a few gasps of sorrow and disbelief, and a sob or two, but I mentally shoved them aside. I held Piper closer, whispering something in her ear. "I love you." Before I knew it, her body was disintegrating in my arms. My arms shook with rage and grief and desperation.

"No. No. NO!" I yelled to nobody in particular, screaming my pain at the sky. I broke down, sobbing. I stood weakly, staring at the spot where Piper had lain. I shook my head, my eyes blurry with tears. How could this have happened? I turned to Thalia, who hugged me. Even though she was two years older than me, she was shorter than me. I buried my head in her shoulder, and she murmured something in my ear, but I couldn't hear anything. Piper was drowning everything out. My mind blocked it all out until all that was left were flashbacks of better times.

"_Hi. I'm Piper." _

"_I-I'm Jason."_

"_Where am I?"_

"_I don't know…we call it The Respawn."_

"_Why would you call it that?"_

"_Because it's where the new kids arrive."_

"_Oh…I don't really remember anything…is that normal?"_

"_Yeah. I just went through the same thing a week ago."_

"_How old are you?"_

"_I'm thirteen."_

"_Same here. Why are we here?"_

"_Apparently, the world is ending, and for the last few years, The Respawn has been sending kids here."_

"_Sounds horrible!"_

"_It's not too bad, actually. I found my sister here."_

"_That's cool. I don't remember if I have any siblings…"_

"_Don't worry, you'll get used to this place."_

"_I sure hope so."_

"_C'mon, let me how you around."_

"_Okay. Thanks, Jason."_

"_No problem."_

"_So, is this…like…a date?"_

"_Um…I don't know…I guess…if- if that's okay with you."_

"_Of course it's fine with me!"_

"_What's that mean?"_

"_In case you haven't noticed, Jason, I've grown pretty attracted to you over the last few years."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah. And I was wondering if gravity works like it supposed to."_

"_What?"_

"_That means kiss me if you like me, Jace."_

"_Piper…I really, really like you. I have for awhile now. So I guess I should test gravity and become more attracted to you than I am now."_

"_How-"_

_I cut her off by kissing her. It was our first kiss, and it was amazing._

"_Jason! You made it!"_

"_What?"_

"_On the Hunters! You made it!"_

"_Really? Awesome!"_

"_Hey! Put me down!"_

"_Sorry, I'm just so happy we made it together!...Piper…you did make it, right?"_

"_No…but it's okay. This way I have a big bad wolf protecting me."_

"_I'm sorry, Piper, I know how badly you wanted that…"_

"_No, I really didn't want it. I just knew you wanted it. I always knew I wouldn't make it, but that will always be okay as long as you survive your trials."_

"_I love you."_

"_I love you, too."_

TIME /\\ WARP

_Jason's Pov Cont._

I was on a table. No, not a table. A stretcher. I couldn't open my eyes, didn't have the strength to sit up. My ears groggily picked up garbled speech of people I hardly recognized.

"No-"

"That's not possible."

"I know…I know what I saw."

"She was…but now…here?"

"How could…so sorry."

"…for? He…"

"…dead?"

"Maybe…"

"Can't be…she…he…why…"

"Travis…it."

"Wha…"

"…leg…injury…larger…thought."

"Sh. Wait. He's…"

"…waking?..."

"Maybe."

I finally managed to open an eye. My vision was distorted, the faces blurred almost beyond recognition. My hearing was returning reluctantly.

"…son. Jason. Jason!"

I tried speaking. "What…who…"

"It's me! Thalia. Can you see? Are you okay?"

"What…happened?" It all came flooding back to me in a rush. "Piper." I choked out. "Oh, gosh, Piper…"

"It's okay, Jace, it's okay."

"No, it's not! It's not! You don't understand!" I was sobbing, finally able to sit up, but I didn't want to.

"No, Jason, it's okay! Really!" Thalia stepped aside, and, through my tears, I saw someone.

My heart stopped.

"Piper?"

**Whoaaaaaa. What just happened here? Haha, well, I dunno how I came up with that. Anyways, Sprry for the slow update.**

**WARNING: not all updates will be quick. Not only do I have school, but I have three other stories to continue. And one that's on HIATUS until I can find inspiration. **

**THANKS FOR READING!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow sorry that this took so long. Thanks for the amazing reviews and support! **

_Percy's Pov_

I don't understand what just happened.

Let me think back…okay, point one, Piper was somehow launched…no, maybe she fell…anyways, Piper fell from the sky.

Point two. She disintegrated. Even though she should've died on impact, somehow she survived. When she finally took her last breath, she stopped moving and started to disintegrate into…ash? Maybe it was dirt? Or could it have been pebbles? I don't know. We didn't touch it, just in case we did the same. Also, it was her remains. How could we have touched it without freezing or acting hysterically?

Point Three. When we got back, we checked The Respawn as always, just in case a newbie arrived while we were gone. Surprisingly, there was Piper. We were absolutely shocked. How was this possible? Nobody had ever died on this island that we knew of but this…this was insane. Did that mean we could all come back? I had no idea.

I stood near Annabeth as she muttered to herself, trying to work everything out.

"How is this possible?" She ran a hand through her hair, bewildered. "I don't understand…life giving properties?" I pulled her into a hug, kissing her forehead.

"Whatever the case, there's at least one positive." I grinned. "Piper's still alive."

"Yes, but what does that mean for us?" Her startling gray eyes locked with my sea-green ones, pleading silently for an answer. "Are we immortal until twenty? Or do we have a limited number of lives? Do we all have immortality?"

"Something tells me you have an answer."

"….I don't like it." She murmured, breaking away from me. She covered her mouth with her hand as she studied the miraculous Piper. "But what if…what if we're all-"

I cut her off. "Save it for the monthly meeting, Wise Girl. Luckily for you, that's in twenty minutes."

"Great." Annabeth muttered. "Twenty minutes of dread and misery to spend with my thoughts."

_Twenty Minutes Later_

Annabeth didn't even start with formalities or greetings. Everyone had barely sat down before she blurted her amazing point. "I think we all might be computer programs." She breathed out heavily, releasing the weight that must've leaned heavily upon her the last twenty minutes.

"Computer programs?" Luke repeated blankly. "That's…"

"Sort of impossible." Thalia finished, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "I don't think it's possible for a program to think and feel by themselves."

"That's just it." Annabeth gulped, "What if we're being programmed to say these things, to think these thoughts? What if our minds aren't our own?"

The room was silent as we processed what she was saying. "But what does that mean about…I don't…." Silena spoke hesitantly. She was one of the regular people, those who weren't hunters, that were allowed to join our Monthly Meeting Club. "What about love?" I glanced at her, then at Annabeth. Annabeth had already looked at me, and broke my gaze awkwardly.

"Yeah, what about our feelings for the people around us?" Clarisse asked gruffly. "I don't think I was programmed to hate Prissy." I rolled my eyes at my stupid nickname. Seriously, just because I broke her spear that one time didn't mean she had to call me names.

"I don't know." Annabeth looked down at the table, her voice soft and slightly broken. It took all I had to stay back and not comfort her. Comforting was not 'appropriate during meetings'.

Thalia spoke again, still trying to figure out a way for this crazy idea to work. "Okay, so what if we're not programmed? What if, though, we were like placed in this computer…or this island itself is digital and…" She trailed off, trying to make a way for it to work.

"What if we were made into viruses like the Bug?" Nico suggested quietly. We all turned to look at him. "What if we aren't actually in here?"

Jason broke the silence that pressured us, waiting for an explanation for Nico's forbidden statement. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what if we're actually in, like, life-sustaining containers or something, and The Bug's computer system is keeping us alive. What if we're thinking and reacting as we would have had we actually been here, but it's just our minds hooked up to computers that play out events for us to conquer?"

"Deep." I noted. I examined my hand, wondering if it was real or if it was just an illusion. "So we can get hurt, but we can't die? What happens to the people who poof then?"

"I think, if Nico's suggestion is real," Annabeth's beautiful gray eyes spun like wheels on a car, faster and faster to produce solutions we ourselves were unable to comprehend. "then I think those people are woken up on their twentieth."

"Woken up?" Reyna questioned. "You mean that we could also be taken captive?"

"Who knows what the world is like now." Luke shrugged. "For all we know, this could be it. Just this little island. Maybe we're wrong, and the computer consumes the person who poofs when they turn twenty." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Silena blink hard and hold her breath. I know Luke didn't mean to hurt her, he was just talking, but she was still broken inside from Beckendorf. I think we all were.

"Maybe…" Annabeth muttered. "But then where would that leave us? Computer programs that are extremely advanced, like I originally thought?" She shook her head. "I don't think so."

Connor joined in on the conversation. "I'm not that smart," he started, grinning guiltily. "But I know that most of you, excluding Percy,"

"Hey!" I protested, knowing what he was gonna say.

"Are pretty smart," he continued as if he hadn't heard the interruption. "So I'm just a little confused here. What are we? Are we even human, like we've all assumed? Maybe we're part of the Bug."

"No." Thalia said quickly. "We can't be part of the Bug. They…they've killed too many people. When could we have done that?"

"On the websites." I realized suddenly. "When we search and stuff…what if we're unconsciously helping the Bug rather than hindering it?"

"That can't be true." Silena glanced around helplessly. "I don't believe it."

"It's a great possibility…" Annabeth said nervously. "But I really hope it's not true. I don't think we could have ever…"

"Just in case, we should ban all computer usage, just until we figure out a fail-safe plan to make sure we aren't helping the Bug in any way." Chris piped up helpfully.

"Good idea," Annabeth nodded in his direction. "Alright, meeting adjourned. Until next month, everyone do what you can to keep people busy and not paranoid. Don't unintentionally start any uprisings, but deny any information asked about this meeting. Everyone got it?" We nodded, and she began to stand. "Meeting over."

**{Line Break}**

"Stop the computers." Thalia strode in, cool and confident, Clarisse right behind her. Everyone turned to look at them. "Everyone log out and shut them down. As of right now, nobody is allowed to use a computer unless you are part of the council. Even we won't be using the computers, unless in very dire circumstances."

"Why?" One kid complained as the others watched him, nobody moving. Nobody really comprehended the fact that the computer usage was over.

"Because we say so, punk!" Clarisse glared, but Thalia gave her a look and she stopped.

"New issues have come up and the council has decided that there is no more purpose to using the computers." Thalia explained as much as she could.

"You guys rule our lives!" A fourteen-year-old girl whined, finally standing up to the council. "Just because you're bigger and older, you all boss us around! It's not fair!"

"So it's not fair that the strongest, oldest, smartest of us advise and do what's best for the rest of the population?" Thalia laughed incredulously. "You've gotta be kidding me! And what do you suggest to be the best option?"

"Give the people a voice!" She shot back. "Make representatives for each age group and put people on the poll. Keep us updated, or something!"

"Shut up, kid, you have no idea what you're talking about!" Clarisse tried again, but Thalia held her back.

"Listen," Thalia began, trying to figure out the best way to explain exactly what was happening while explaining nothing at all. "When I was your age, I was just here. Everything was new, nobody knew what was happening. We tried to set up a bunch of different legal systems, that being one of them, but nothing was working. So we panicked, and the best of us, not me, I can assure you, took control. They helped us through, and we trusted them. They dealt with problems that we couldn't even begin to think of solutions to. And look what we have here. A well-working society. Now, things are changing, and it's starting to look like the beginning again. So now is the time to have our little government be made up with the best, the people who truly understand this situation. I know it's not fair, I totally get it. But sometimes, you just have to go with it. So come on. Let us lead you. Turn off your computers and go to the eating tables. There, by last name you will be assigned a new job based on your skills and interests. Annabeth made up a lot of the list and she's pretty smart so yeah."

The girl thought about it a moment, then turned off her computer. The rest followed her example, each exiting the door in a single-file line to get their new order of work. Thalia and Clarisse watched them leave.

"We have too many sheep here." Clarisse commented. "Everyone thinks for themselves, but few actually say it."

**{Line Break}**

_Nico's Pov_

I watched the kids from a distance. Everyone was confused, they had no idea what was going on. I sighed internally. One of them was supposed to become a new hunter. I wondered who it would be. I hoped, deep down, that I would be nominated. After all, I was strong, even though I didn't look it, and I could wield my weapon well. On the other hand, though, I was unsocial and slightly aggressive towards my peers.

I got off the wall, realizing that I should probably check where my new job would be. Mason? Cook, maybe? I hoped not. I hated cooking, ever since I accidentally set the kitchen on fire I was banned from it. As I walked over to the big letter 'D' posted on a wooden sign, I noticed kids giving me dirty looks. I ignored them, as usual. They probably just hated on me, as usual. I didn't blame them. Who couldn't hate me? Even I disliked myself. The only person who pretty much appreciated my existence was Hazel, my sister. And maybe Reyna, she was a cool friend.

I trudged up to the paper with my name on it.

It read: _Nico di Angelo, age seventeen; Hunter_

_What?_ Was my initial thought. They were really letting me join? I was actually excited. I rushed to find Hazel, to tell her the great news. As I left the board, everyone glaring at me, I realized that, for the first time in forever, I was smiling.

**{Line Break}**

_Bianca's Pov_

I touched the screen as I watched my little brother, the tears rushing down my face. Finally, he had found purpose. I knew that influencing Annabeth to pick him was a good idea. He would have friends for once. I smiled, my face nearly breaking with joy. I loved him so much. If only he remembered me….

"Don't worry, Bianca." A woman's voice soothed, and a soft hand rubbed my shoulder comfortingly. "You two will be reunited soon enough. We just have to wait for the right moment."

"I know." I managed through my tears. "I'm just happy that he's actually happy. I really hope he finds friends."

"He will," Calypso smiled at me as I turned to look at her, wiping my eyes. "remember?"

"Yeah, I do." I sniffed. "I just never thought what we do actually would work."

**Well, this chapter took a turn even I didn't expect! Thanks for all the support! Sorry for this taking too long, I'll try to update faster next time, but ya know finals and everything are this week, it's a miracle anyone's even updating this week. I don't even know where I found this time. I've been working on this a long time, though. I just finally found inspiration and ideas to make it happen! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I know I don't get many reads, but you reviews make up for it! And you all have very interesting concepts and guesses about the series I MEAN BOOK I'm writing ;) **

**I'm seriously intrigued about your theories. Honestly some of them I hadn't even thought about. Before I wrote this story (and still during it) I change it a bit in my mind (the final outcome that is) and twist it. I think of different possibilities, how the world could be, the background, everything. And some of you have offered ideas I hadn't even come up with, which I thought was very interesting. Not that I hadn't thought of them before, but the ideas themselves were very interesting. Thanks for sharing! **

**Anyways, here's your chapter since you guys have waited so long.**

_Nico's Pov_

The first day with the Hunters was pretty good, I guess. I kept to myself mostly, but we hunted in two groups of six so I was forced to…shudder…socialize with five others.

My group consisted of Reyna (yay, someone who actually appreciated my existence!), Jason, Thalia, Luke, and Clarisse. Clarisse threw me daggers (not literally, thankfully) when they called my name as the groups were chosen. I was chosen before her, which I thought was odd, but didn't question it.

Thalia and Percy were the 'Team Captains' (_"Because I'm not hunting anywhere with Captain Kelp Head!" "Likewise, Commander Pinecone Face!"_) and they chose teams like dodgeball. Thalia got Jason, Luke, Reyna, Clarisse, and I. Percy chose Annabeth, Frank, Travis, Connor, and Chris.

My weapon (I was supposed to be issued a new weapon but I had made mine awhile ago so they let me keep it and wield it) was a three-foot-long obsidian so-black-it-looked-blue sword. Not very handy for animals, but definitely good for monster-destroying. That turned out to be extremely useful at the end of the day.

After a barely successful hunt, we came across a wonderful pack of hellhounds. My favorite (note the sarcasm). My group pulled out their weapons, each snarling back at their hellhounds. It was funny, actually, to watch humans copy a monster's moves to seem more intimidating. Anyways, Clarisse lead the attack, charging at the lead while screaming a war cry. The rest followed her lead, each taking on their own hound. There were more than enough for all of us, though, so I snuck around to the back of the battle, disintegrating the dogs before they could double up against one of the Hunters. Once, I stabbed one, turning it to monster dust right before it snapped Thalia's throat in half. She threw up her arm in defense (the animal had knocked her spear away from her) as it pounced, and was in turn showered with the sulfury substance. She seemed surprised that she wasn't dead after a moment, and gave me a strange look. I grimly smiled, saluting her sarcastically before gliding off to help Jason.

We managed to defeat the monsters in less than twenty minutes, but by the end everyone was covered head to toe in sulfur. Gross. We smelled, and needed a shower badly.

"They must have come for the meat." Jason noted, and Clarisse rolled her eyes.

"Great thinking, genius. They should stick you on deciphering the mysteries of life duty." She sarcastically quipped.

Jason opened his mouth, his thin eyebrows narrowing, but Reyna cut him off. "Come on, Clarisse. You said you were useful in a fight, but how many times did Nico save your butt?"

I shifted my weight, uncomfortable with the attention. This was why I hated large groups. Even six was too big.

"Oh, please, Reyna." Thalia shook her head. "He saved everyone out there, probably you the most." That wasn't true. It was actually Jason who I had to save the most. He was a good fighter, but not as good as the rest of us.

"Last I saw, he was destroying the monster that had you pinned on the ground." Luke said mildly.

"Well, thanks for the help, then." She glared at him. "At least Nico is kind enough to actually help me out."

"Nico was the hero, today. We can all at least agree on that." Jason calmed it down before a real fight began. And we all knew exactly how vicious the other could be. To my surprise, everyone nodded at his statement.

I shrugged. "Just trying to help out." I said, because there really was nothing else to say.

That's when it struck me. The people here really cared about me. They _wanted_ me to succeed. They wouldn't bring me down. These were good people. Good colleagues. Teenagers I might one day call friends.

**{Line Break}**

_Percy's Pov_

We returned to the camp, and I was still surprised to see people milling about. Since the job opportunities had dropped exponentially due to the lack of computer services, people really didn't have much to do. They could finish their job in the first few hours of the day, then…nothing. They could find a hobby, I guessed. Play chess (not my style) or maybe duel (that's more like it) or maybe even play sports (I'm not much of an athlete). That's exactly what people were doing, too. Just…having fun. For the first time in a long, long time, people were enjoying themselves here. It was turning out to be less of a prison than a sanctuary. A sanctuary from what, though, was the question.

Annabeth left to go play chess with some kids, and the others dispersed with her, Frank going to the chess place as well, Travis and Connor to the group of pranksters huddled in a corner near the kitchen, and Chris to the dueling arena. I went to the hospital to check up on Piper. She was placed there while we ran tests, psychological only because we didn't have brain scan equipment.

When I arrived at the hospital, she was beating a nurse in a game of chess. The nurse was only thirteen years old, assigned there because of her overwhelming sense of compassion and empathy along with her brains, which were very large. On the account that I am not a zombie, I am not planning to eat her, but if I were then she would be my second victim, after Annabeth. But since I'm not a zombie (and don't ever plan to be) I promise not to eat them.

"Hey Piper." I grinned at her smirking form as she looked up from her chess game.

"_Hola_, Commander FishFace. Say, you want to play next game?"

"I would, but your game is going on pretty long." I eyed the chessboard. Yeah, I had no idea how it was going. I don't play chess.

Piper rolled her eyes and made a move. "Checkmate." She concluded, and the stunned nurse groaned, knocking over her own king.

"All yours, Jackson." She said as she exited the room.

I sighed, sitting to the edge of her bed. As she set up the board and began to make her first move, Jason strutted in. His group had obviously run into some monsters, and I smirked at him, his form coated in yellow dust.

"Bro, take a shower." I said, holding my nose.

"Sorry, bro, I needed to check up with Piper first." He smiled at her, his sky blue eyes relaxing as he studied her face.

"Alright, you saw me, I'm good, now go take a shower, Sparky, or else I'll start calling you Smelly." Piper waved him away, grinning. Jason sighed, rolling his eyes but obliging.

I began my losing game, pretending to study the moves, but we all knew that I was just pretending. I had no chance.

She got me checkmated in four moves.

**{Line Break}**

_Luke's Pov_

Am I having a fight with Thalia? No. Maybe. Probably? I don't really know anymore. Was it something I said? It's always something I say, or do. Whatever it is, she's ignoring me right now. Was it because of what I said after the hellhound attack? I didn't mean to offend her. Now I was stuck trying to make up for it.

"Come on!" I pleaded. "Just say something please!"

As she had been doing, she cold shouldered me. This was getting frustrating. "You know what?" I glared at her. "If you're not gonna tell me what I did to deserve this, then I'm not gonna talk to you either." I spun around, storming away.

I could almost feel her roll her eyes in my direction. "Just stay away from me, Castellan!" I heard her shout, and my heart plummeted. But I kept striding away. I had no idea where I was going, nor why. I kept going anyways, and eventually I somehow ended up in the forest.

I had no idea how I had gotten there, but there I was, sitting on a big rock, my hands through my hair. My birthday was in a few months. I thought about what would happen. I knew that either I would die or…I don't know.

But I knew that if and when I died, I didn't want to leave Thalia without telling her what I felt. I figured that she couldn't stay mad at me forever. I would go back and…I don't know. It had to be perfect, like she was. If I messed this up, the next few months would be definitely unbearable.

So that's when I decided. Unless the situation was completely amazing, I wouldn't tell her until the day before I poofed. I didn't want to be rejected, but I didn't want to not tell her. I doubt that she feels anything for me like that, but hey. Maybe she will, and I'll have been a selfish idiot this whole time.

Whatever I ended up doing, I found myself walking back towards the camp. I came across Annabeth playing an intense game of chess against some other guy who I didn't know so well. I think his name was Jake. He looked to be about seventeen.

I didn't know much about chess, but Annabeth seemed to be losing? That was a first.

"Oo, is this guy about to destroy you, Annie?" I taunted, smirking.

She glared at the board, not looking at me. For a moment, I panicked, thinking that she was ignoring me, too. I couldn't lose both of my best friends in one day. Then she spoke and I relaxed. "Shut up, Luke, I'm trying to concentrate. And don't call me Annie!"

She moved her rook sideways three spaces, putting his king into check. "Check." She said, leaning back.

He studied the board. "Oh, it's going down over here." I pretended to study the board, leaning close and stroking my chin.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, grinning. "Shut up, man, you're throwing us off."

"Say, do you know why Thalia's mad at me?" I questioned. Maybe Thalia had talked to Annabeth. Girls always talked to their friends about guys.

Unfortunately, Annabeth simply looked confused. "Thalia's mad at you?" Then she shrugged. "I dunno. She's not herself right now."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Annabeth shrugged again, but her eyes were on the board as Jake made his move. "She's been disconnected lately, ya know? Just…different. I don't know, you're the closest to her besides me and Jason. Talk to him about it."

Jake got Annabeth in check, and she quickly took out his bishop, checkmating the game. I set out to find Jason, annoyed at Thalia for being irritated at me.

_Bianca's Pov_

I checked the screens and my papers, making sure that everything was going well. Perfect. The attack with the hellhounds had gone exactly as planned, if not better. However, the interaction between Patient 034 and Patient 035 could have gone better. If only Patient 023 hadn't been in the room…no matter. Their relationship would be fixed soon enough. Patient 017 seemed to be having some mental breakdown issues, due to her reaction with Patients 018 and 026. The fight after the attack was perfectly coordinated, each patient doing well except Patient 017. She however, does well during the fight itself, releasing her emotions there. We were getting better at this. Nico was fitting in, which I found was a personal win, no matter what the others tried to convince me of as a general production. Nico was the only one who I didn't refer to as Patient and their assigned number. He was my brother, and I treated him as so.

In front of my superiors, however, I would only refer to him as Patient 005. I couldn't afford to be evicted. Out there…it wasn't pleasant. I would rather serve them than be out there and fend for myself.

At least in here I made a difference.

**Well, there you have it! I am updating my stories based on dates since I haven't updated some in about six months…whoops! Sorry guys, and I really am. I'm working on it, I swear. **

**Until Next Time!**

**-SetFireToTheRainbow**

**PS PLEASE COMMENT REVIEWS AND/OR THEORIES I LOVE READING THOSE**


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